Crème de la Crumb
466 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

Whenever there are high notes and/or excitement when a new place opens, I approach it with certain skepticism. More often than not, it is hype; others, the “free” food factor. However, as I mentioned in my Bella Gelateria post, there are people I trust, like Mijune and Sherman. When Mijune wrote about Crème de la Crumb in her Granville Foodie Tour post, I knew I had to visit it, despite sweets are not my first option and a lot of what is sold here are pastries…

So, given my lack of sweets experience, why I choose to come anyway? How about sandwiches? Yes, when Mijune wrote about it, this was the one item that actually caught my attention. So, what does this little shop has to offer? How about this?

Here, Grilled Steak and Blue Cheese Mayo w/ Balsamic Caramelized Red Onion, Arugula, Mushrooms, which was grilled just before it was served. Now, here is something I must mention right away: These are not prepared to order; as their menu states: ” Our gourmet sandwiches are hand-prepared each morning…“. So, if you are those who like to customize your sandwiches, sorry, what you see wrapped in the cool display is what you get.

One thing that really surprised me when I took the first couple of bites is the bread. While I think the cut was a bit too thick, one thing you could notice almost right away is that it is not your run off the mill bread. It wasn’t necessarily a sweet type bread not complete neutral type. But it was the fact there were pieces of walnuts in it. It is quite an interesting departure from the usual ones, indeed.

As for the filling itself, that’s where things were… Interesting. On one side, there was a balance, in the sense you had some greens plus the savoury part and then there is the mushroom. On each bite you could taste a bit of all. However, how the meat was cut was what confused me. Each piece was almost a chunk rather than thin slices. If that was the intent, well, it worked; however, I would have preferred it differently, more on the lines of longer slices (think Philly cheesesteak). In the end it worked though…

Now, a really odd note about my selection: it seems that I should have ordered the turkey one; however, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about the turkey for some reason. Probably because, given the option, I prefer beef over some fowl in a sandwich? (Not that I haven’t had that before but…) Or because I am biased against turkey? Regardless, here is the big question: how does it compare to nearby places? Compared to, say, Bread Garden, I think we have a winner. However, if we compare it to made to order places, like Finch’s or Brioche, well, it is a case of comparing apple to oranges, specially in the case you are looking for something quick (if you are short on time, going to Finch’s is almost madness)

OK, OK, I am not THAT crazy about pastries but, given I was in one, shouldn’t I have tried some as well? Here we have their lemon poppy seed loaf. Just for kicks, I asked for my colleagues to give this one a try and, for the most part, they were quite enthusiastic about it. They found it was moist but without getting really oily (compared to say, some muffins from other places). One thing they liked a lot was the fact there was that contrast between the moist centre and there was a crusty exterior. As for the lemon taste, actually, I find it was lemon-y, though I wished it was more of a “natural” taste but, I guess, it being baked there will be some transformation from that natural taste. And, oh, the poppy seeds… Let’s just say that we were joking about triggering a false positive in drug tests!

For myself, I also got a vanilla bean + pear scone. There was a particular note about this: I wasn’t planning to eat it right away so I asked if there would be any special instructions if I wanted to eat it later. Lydia, the owner, suggested me to put it in a toaster oven until the exterior was getting crunchy (while, in this case, the interior was kept soft and, I dare to say, sweet!). I did exactly that later that day and… Well, my perception of a scone is something neutral, in this case, it was sweet. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised given it has vanilla and pear. However, I didn’t really taste much of the vanilla. Probably if I tried really hard… Or I had things mixed up with the sweetness (it had some level of)? And there were actual pieces of pear but, once again, it was somewhat muted. Now you knew there were there, as you could “feel” it but somehow lost in that sea of sweetness.

On another day, I decided to drop by really early hopefully to get that turkey sandwich to have it as breakfast. Alas, they weren’t available yet so, instead, I went for something “sweet”. Sigh, pushing my limit on sweets…

Here, their banana chocolate chip loaf. Alas, I didn’t eat it right away but later in the afternoon as a “snack” later that day. In a way, it shared a lot of characteristics to the lemon poppy seed bar, i.e., it wasn’t really that oily and moist. However, there was something lost in translation here: I can’t say I could taste the banana. Could it be they weren’t that ripe when they made this batch (considering that gap between green to ripe before spoiling is really narrow). I mean, I knew it was there because I could see the strands/specks but couldn’t taste it that much. In the end, it felt more like a chocolate chips loaf – and there is nothing wrong with that!

Finally, what seems to be something that almost shouldn’t be missed was their cinnamon bun. And that’s what I had for breakfast in the end. When I was growing up, I could eat a couple of these; however, after that desire for sweets wane, so did my tolerance. However, I will admit, despite it looked as a sugar overload (OK, technically it is), they weren’t as sweet as it could be. And, true to its name, the cinnamon was there. Alas, one thing I didn’t quite enjoy was the frosting on top. For some reason, there was something that bugged me and I couldn’t really find out what. So, pieces with frosting were fine, those with, I ended up scrapping it off. I guess it is more on the lines of personal preference.

Overall, the fact I was able to eat some of the sweets despite my low tolerance tells me something. Alas. if it wasn’t because it is somewhat far from my workplace prevents me from coming back for a quick lunch. And, for some pastries, if it wasn’t because of their hours (then again, this is Downtown, a lot of places aren’t open on some days/after certain times). Otherwise, I think Crème de la Crumb is a good option.

Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts – Bakery 101
1505 West 2nd Avenue
Vancouver, BC

OK, despite its odd name, no, I wasn’t in a class. Rather, this is a bakery located in the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, a local culinary school near Granville Island. So, how come I went considering I am not crazy about sweets, not to mention this one in particular, considering all the bakeries found in Vancouver? Well… Blame Yen of OMNOMics on this one, as she recently wrote a blog post about it!

OK, the truth was that, after my lunch in Go Fish, I went back to Atlantic Canada House to see if lines had shortened up. No, no chance so I felt defeated and started going back to take the streetcar (aka Olympic Line) to go back to Downtown. On my way out, I noticed the school and Yen’s post so I thought “I might as well!”.

As soon as you walk pass the door, you can see the bakery. Of course, if you want lunch or dinner prepared by the students, you can go to the restaurant as well. However, I will leave that for some other visit, hehehehe. Since I had a big lunch in Go Fish, that meant I only had space for that much. The question was… What? As in which one of these????

This is for show purposes only – I wasn’t going to order the whole pie!

Now, the fact they were doing some prep, float count and so one, meant they were in a bit of a rush. So, while I was deciding, three different people checked on me. Yes, I felt some pressure in ordering but, c’mon, give me a break, OK? Anyway, since I couldn’t decide, I went for the same item that Yen went for. Behold…

The Pazuwa. Now, don’t ask me what Pazuwa means or into what that translates into. Instead, I can only say it has milk chocolate & hazelnut mousse with cheesecake & chocolate chunks, chocolate sponge cake base with chocolate glaze”. Yes, that is chocolate on chocolate on chocolate!

At first, because it looked shinny, I was under the impression the exterior would be solid… Nope, it was really soft. Wooops, my mistake! Similar to what happened to Yen, I was under the impression it would be a solid piece of cheese cake… My mistake again! Instead, it was small pieces of cheese cake. And I will admit, the combination of the soft mousse and almost as soft cheesecake worked really well. Not only in the texture sense but also in the taste. Whereas one is basic and the other is, well, chocolate, they did not fight each other, instead, the cheesecake added some additional creaminess to the overall concoction. As for the cake, in part it was MIA but the rest of the chocolate made up for that “absence”. In fact, despite it is labelled as milk chocolate, there was enough dark(er) chocolate to give it a slightly bitter taste to it.

Now, I won’t try to even compare it to giants like Ganache Patisserie, Kreations Artisan Cake or Thomas Haas – these guys are pros. However, if this is what students can crank out, I am certain they will be able to provide even better things in the future. In the meantime, if you want pastries from places like the ones mentioned above but do not want to blow the budget, this place offers an interesting alternative.

Sciué
800 W Pender Street (Location visited)
126 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC

Once again, it was during those hectic Winter Olympic days… Actually, they weren’t THAT bad because, thanks to arrangements from my workplace, I was able to finish work earlier which let me wander around the different houses and pavilions (and I blogged about them here). That arrangement also allowed me to go to Downtown core itself for lunch and, for today’s post, one of those places that seems to be close yet a bit too far: Sciué

Truth is, I am not sure what would be the best way to describe Sciué… Coffee shop? Sandwich shop? Restaurant? Sure, the entrance tells you it is also a bakery but, one thing is what they say it is, another is what they actually sell. One thing that you won’t miss is the fact they are Italian based as, well, they sell a lot of Italian goods, including what I ended up ordering for lunch…

Yup, that is pizza alright. But, wait… Why it looks like rectangles? Well, it just happens they don’t sell it by slice, as almost any other places nearby. Instead, think of ~17.5 cm/~7″ wide flat bread. You then tell them how much you want and they will cut a piece for you. That piece is then weighed (for cost) and reheated before it is served to you. Of course, you can’t tell them “I want 100g”; instead, you estimate how much before it is cut. While I am OK with this approach of guessing it yourself the same way you would when ordering cold cuts in a deli, I didn’t quite like the fact I could (easily) find the price per gram in the menu, nor have an idea of how many grams are the slice I am asking for, nor the fact they were quite “fast” at the weight scale (they just put it and removed it right away: I couldn’t really see how much it was that slice). Had I known in advance, I might have hesitated on ordering this for lunch…

As for the dough/base, it is of course, quite different from the one found in Ah-Beetz. The end result is more doughy and chewy, yet the more charred portions had a crunch bite to it. In a funny way, that worked well, as despite the “small” portion, it ended up quite filling due to all the chewing you had to go through. As for taste, I could swear it was somewhat similar to the taste of sourdough…

The toonie is for reference purposes

I will admit I am a fan of almost all form of edible fungi, even if it is the plain/simple button mushroom. In this case, it imparted a meatiness to the slice, which made meat unnecessary. I will admit I wasn’t paying too much attention to the cheese (chances are, it was mozzarella); however, what I will admit is that it wasn’t that milky substances found in other places – it actually tasted like cheese. From that perspective, I will give them some credit…

Slice #2 was one of the “salad” type pizzas. In this case, after the flat bread has been prepared, some garden salad and, in this case, salmon was added to the top. I will admit I got this one out of a whim because, well, it has salmon! The base had a creamy dressing which help the green salad – both complemented the smokiness of the salmon.

Now, this last one is dedicated to Jessica (of Yum-o-Rama). See, some long time ago, Jessica embarked on a quest for cannoli and, in a way, I took over that torch. Unfortunately, I dropped it because, I wasn’t really looking too hard. However, after noticing they have cannoli, I had to order one.

Now, they didn’t fill up upon ordering so, purists, don’t bring your pitchforks, you were warned! As for taste… Well, it was good yet it was OK. The filling was creamy and not too sweet. The cocoa powder didn’t really add much, unfortunately. The part that went sideways was the pastry: think of it more on the lines of a soft (not chewy) cookie. While it kept its shape, after the first bite, everything started to crumble down. In a way, it wasn’t a pretty sight. However, I am sure others won’t mind this and will be happy with this otherwise messy cannoli.

For the most part, the food was above average but one thing wasn’t: price. I am all in for quality food but when I pay almost $10 for the flat bread/pizza plus $3.25 for the cannolo, well, it is a hard hit to the wallet. At the same price, I can think of better lunch options. OK, I will give them some break considering they are in Downtown core and their customer base might not care as much. On the same token, that is the reason I am not that interested in coming back…

Kolachy Co
888 Beatty Street
Vancouver, BC

One of the areas of town I tried to avoid during the Olympic Games was Yaletown. Part of the reason was the amount of people in the area, specially due to LiveCity Yaletown where nightly concerts took place. Now, I did pass by one night but I was on the back area of LiveCity. Probably that explains why pedestrian traffic was minimal… On one of my walks near different exhibits/pavilions without trying to go to Yaletown, I noticed a small shop near Alberta House called Kolachy Co. Kolachy (also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky)?! What #@$%@#$ is that?! After checking different sources, it seemed it was one of those cases were the exact item might have evolved so what you actually get is not necessarily what you would expect. Anyway…

Before I walked in, I noticed a sign that explains what they serve – whether if that is actually kolachy in the straight sense of the word, I can’t say. So, this is a case of taking things “as is” rather than aiming for authenticity or what not. So, what do they say is a kolachy?

“I know what you’re thinking!! What the heck is Kolachy co.??? Well, we sell kolachy’s (sic). They are whole wheat buns stuffed with various savoury fillings!! And… Not only do we have great buns!! We also have some of the best soup!

When I read that description, I couldn’t help but think about that infamous Chinese dish: pork buns! I mean, if you just remove “whole wheat” and replace “various savoury fillings” with cha siu or Chinese BBQ, won’t that gives you the basic pork bun?! Anyway, this is what I got

If it wasn’t because I saw them preparing some kolachy, I would have thought they were playing a prank. I mean, doesn’t this look like a regular bun you would get in a supermarket like Safeway, Superstore of Save-on-Foods? Well, a bit heavier and warm but… Otherwise, if you see one of these, there is no way you can’t think it is just your regular bun!

Rather than me biting into it directly, I decided to tear it to see how it is set up inside and compare too…

• A whole wheat bun. Actually, it is quite comparable; however, it is slightly stretchier. I guess that was expected, considering it had to hold the meat filling inside.
• BBQ bun. When I was there, the menu did not contain any pork filling (or as far as I could see). And, after asking them what they would suggested (divided between beef and Thai chicken), I settled for the later. As seen in the picture above, the chicken was actually chunks of chicken. I am not sure what part of the filling make it “Thai”, other than a slight hint of curry and very faint hint of coconut; otherwise, the sauce provided something for the dough so it didn’t ended up being, well, just a piece of bread.

Normally, I would have ordered a second one because, let’s face it, one is not enough for me. However, this wasn’t a “normal” situation and ended up going for that single kolachy. And… Here comes one of my “issues”: The “cheapo” Chinese in me kicked in and thought that, at slightly over $4.25, it is a bit too expensive. After all, you can go to some restaurants in the Downtown Eastside area where you easily get *three* pork buns for the same $$$! Now, by itself, I will have to say it was quite good but I am not sure it is something I will necessarily go back with much enthusiasm for the reason mentioned before. After all, on my way to Beatty Street (where Kolachy is located) from Vancouver West End (where I work), there are shops/restaurants, including (to be open soon) Japadog or (hope it is open by now), Gyu Don Ya. If it wasn’t for that one factor, I might be more interested in coming back.

Ganache Patisserie
1262 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC

When I was writing my “Where to Eat?” posts for Vancouver 2010, one of my suggestions was Ganache Patisserie for pastries. While I trusted Elaine’s opinion, I must also now add I have been there myself a couple of times. So, how come I didn’t write about it? Well, it just happens it is one of those felt through the cracks posts… -_-;;; So, after I wrote that post and on a day walking by the area, I decided to stop by.

Unlike my previous visits, when there was sunlight for better picture taking, this day, it was about sunset time so lightning conditions were a bit mixed. Fortunately (?), the freezer cooling case had some lightning which helped me take these pictures:

I have mentioned previously that I am not a sweets person but that does not stop me from getting some once in a while. The problem is that, given all these options, you have to make the best of that once in a while visit. So, I had a hard time deciding what to order! Did I want something really sweet or bitter? Or something similar to cake or a custard (they had crème brûlée also)? Do I want a strong chocolate flavour or do I want fruit? What about nuts? Decisions, decisions. In the end, I decided to go for…

Opéra à la noisette, dark chocolate ganache, coffee buttercream, hazelnut biscuit, praline crunch. There was no particular reason why I chose this one in particular. It was more on the lines of “OK, I will choose the first one I lay my eyes on!”. Reality is, based on my previous visits, any one would have been good. As for this one, despite the description of a biscuit and praline crunch, there wasn’t anything crunchy I could taste. There was a somewhat thick consistency but not too thick that I couldn’t easily scoop out from the spoon nor too crumbly it will shatter when you try to push that said spoon. Once in my mouth, it was similar to a piece of chocolate when it starts to melt. A balanced combination of flavours, not one overpowering the other and, of course, being the ganache the most noticeable one.

One of the topics of contention is that Thomas Haas vs. Ganache Patisserie double baked croissant comparison. So, I asked for a “croissant”. Unfortunately, what I did not know was that they also have *regular* croissants, like the one above. Argh! But, back to this one, it was quite buttery. Since I bought this one to take home, when I arrived, the paper bag had soaked some of it and was a bit oily. Not necessarily wrong… As for the taste, again, buttery would be the only way to describe it.

Also, I noticed these small bags with financier. As a cake, I think I have had better; however, since I did not actually eat them until ~36 hours after I purchased them, it is possible things might have gone sideways during those hours, so I won’t hold it against them.

Overall, Ganache Patisserie is a good option if you want pastries. They are not cheap but the final product is worth what you pay for. As for a heads up comparison against Kreation Artisan Cake and Thomas Haas, I will have to say the three of them have something to offer – the edge of Ganache Patisserie over the others is location.

Kreation Artisan Cake
3357 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC

In yesterday’s post of Pho Tan, I made specific mention that I did not order the large sized bowl of pho and went for the small one instead. Truth is I was planning to go somewhere else after that meal and, while I am considered to be big for a Chinese born, which translates to a medium-large person on this side of the world, I can only eat that much – something that has changed since I have grown older. (Hey, I am not in my 20′s any more! ). Besides, I don’t have a black hole like Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie) and/or her friend Nicole (of Le Mode du Jour) whom tweeted (sp???) a couple of days ago, saying between the two of them, they ate “enough to feed a family of 4…or 2 full grown men + a baby.” Did I mention they are two petite, slim women? I feel ashamed… Anyway, so, why did I go for the small bowl of pho? Because I wanted to try Kreation Artisan Cake, a bakery/pastry shop in Cambie Street.

Ninja update: How much did Mijune and Nicole eat? Check here!

Now, here is a small disclaimer: I am not that much of a sweets person. Sure, I can eat some but I won’t die if I don’t have it. The fact that I drove all the way to Cambie Street meant I was determined to give this place a try. This is specially true as I still had fresh memories from my trip to Seattle and the goodies I got from Bakery Nouveau. But, before I go to the goodies I actually had, here are some pictures of what you can find in Kreation Artisan Cake.

So, from a perspective, you can tell it share some similarities with Bakery Nouveau. But, unlike Bakery Nouveau, Kreation is a small shop: it has only one table for you to seat and enjoy your goods (if you choose to eat in) plus a couch at the end. Given the small amount (as in batch size, not type) of goodies available at a time, I guess that was the intent, i.e., create a cozy environment for you to try the goods, rather than a cafe-style one.

As for what I got, I went for their Green Tea Chestnut, which serves sort of a straight comparison with the Blueberry Pistachio I had in Bakery Nouveau. It is made green tea dacquoise, caramelized merengue, chestnut cream between layers of green tea cake. The caramelized meringue did not really work for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was good in its own ways; however, either due to the placement (i.e., almost top layer) or the texture of it resulted in a somewhat crumbly mess when trying to scoop vertically. The rest of the dessert had a light fluffy consistency, which ended up contrasting that meringue texture. Tastewise, I was able to lightly “sense” the chesnut, which is always good (though, as usual, a bit stronger taste would have been better). However, aside from the greenish colour, I had problems with the green tea; specifically, I don’t think I actually taste anything “green tea” (but, then again, I am a Darjeeling/Earl Grey drinker). Despite that, the layer cake was moist and managed to contrast the texture of the meringue. Based on this, I think the winner is still the Blueberry Pistachio…

Now, in an odd move on my side, I was talking to the person in charge at the moment about my experience with the Blueberry Pistachio and he introduce me to pastry chef Kanno who was in the back (no doubtly preparing some goodies) and owns the place. I told her about the blueberry pistachio and how it compares against her creation. When mentioned the wafer/meringue comparison, she explained she is trying to create recipes that does not use gluten hence some odd decisions (like using the meringue). She took quite well the suggestion of creating something similar to the Blueberry Pistachio and mentioned she might give it a try once blueberries are in season. If that is the case, I look forward to see it is there to give it a try.

After my conversation, I picked up two more basic goodies and took it home:

To the top/left, a brownie and to bottom/right, a cookie drop (?). The cookie drop was lemon, similar to the texture of a hard cookie coated dusted with some caster sugar. This is something I would definitely serve with tea (assuming, that is, if I was to serve tea!). As for the brownie, it did not have that creamy consistency you feel when it is made with lots of butter. Instead, it had the texture of a cake, which is not necessarily bad. Still, I enjoyed it because it wasn’t too sweet, rather, there was a level of bitterness to it.

Overall, Kreation Artisan Cafe offers a solid product line. Sure, they are not Fratelli Bakery cheap but the products are well made and showed some care in its creation. Despite it wasn’t an out-of-the-park home run, it was good and a nice addition to the area. I will be back.

B & O Espresso
204 Belmont Ave E
Seattle, WA

While this is part of the meal I had on my last night in Seattle, I decided to switch order here, i.e., I chose to post about dessert first. I myself I am not a person with sweet tooth; however, once in a while, I will go for it. This was such the case. After our meal in Le Pichet (the topic of tomorrow’s post), I took OF for some tea. Sure, it was “late” already but, at the end of this phase of the project, I though we might as well give this a chance. So, I decided to drive to one of the best known such spot in Seattle, B & O Espresso.

B & O is not labelled as a pastry shop; rather it is sort of a dinner but with a large cake/pastry menu. When we arrived – which ended being a pain because of the lack of parking space – most of other tables had only tea/coffee/dessert. I guess it should be an issue we were to order only that, right?

As for my selection of drinks, I went for tea. Frequent readers, will have noticed that tea I have ordered more frequency is Earl Grey. However, if it is available, I will go for Darjeeling. I had a cup of that form of tea some time ago and… Well, it is somewhat difficult to describe. I have tried Darjeeling ever since and it has not been the same experience. That’s why I usually end up falling back to my second favourite: Earl Grey. Sorry everybody, green tea is somewhat overrated for drinking. While that is what I ordered and got in a tea pot, taking a picture of a tea pot is not that interesting. I was somewhat disappointed with the actual tea as there wasn’t that much of that orange taste unique of Earl Grey. As for OF… Well, let me put the pictures first:

Sorry but light conditions were terrible and I was *this* close to using the Speedlight. However, I did not because we were seated in an open area and that would have been distracting to other customers. Above Numi White Tea (?!) which happened to be a flowering tea. I had a little bit of this and… Well, it is extremely different compared to the different forms of tea I have had before. In this case, it had a bitter, alkaline/chalky taste. Not the form of tea I would drink…

OF was OK with having only tea but that did not stop me from ordering a dessert. Reality is that I did not check their dessert menu in advance and asked the waiter for the best selling item. His reply? “Chocolate raspberry torte”. I did not think too much about it and asked for a slice of that. The end result is seen in the picture above. I wasn’t really expecting a cake but, after it arrived on the table, it reminded me of certain item I had in Sweet Obsession. End result? I had to do a comparison… In this case, it was as bad as the one I had in Sweet Obsession. Almost the exact same problem that occurred here happened there as well (go ahead, check that post, I will still be here!). That begs the question: is the dessert supposed to be like this or the execution in both places is bad? Regardless of the answer, I did not really like it.

In the end, I have the hunch that this place have certain potential, specially considering the area itself is somewhat similar to Vancouver West Side. However, so is Sweet Obsession. In both cases, I was not impressed and will have to give it thumbs down.

The Cheesecake Factory
Several locations in the US
Southcenter Mall (Location visited)
Tukwila, WA

“You haven’t been to The Cheesecake Factory?!” That was the reaction of both Sherman and Mijune when I was asking them for options of eateries in the Washington. In the past I have chosen not to go to chains, unless it is a local/regional chain because, let’s face it, pretty much you can go there when options run out. However, there was some enthusiasm and a partial endorsement from both that I thought I should give it a try. So, here it goes!

Unlike my previous trips, on this one, I was with OF, FO and EZ. Since I ended up being the designated driver, to a certain extent, I ended up picking the places to eat after work. Of course, I always checked if there was a particular like/dislike before choosing the place but, in the case of The Cheesecake Factory, it is one of those where there will always be something that people can eat. After been seated in a far corner, which is both good and bad, it was time to check the menu. Now, I did have some suggestions (more on that in a moment) but it seemed it took the wait staff forever to take our orders. But, once that was taken care of…

I tried both complimentary breads and they did what they were supposed to do. While the white one is your regular baguette, for the darker one… Well, I am sure it is a form of whole wheat, probably with some molasses (as it was somewhat sweet) rather than high-fructose corn syrup (or other sweetener) to make it darker. It was OK but, then again, I wasn’t really looking forward to fill up myself with just bread.

FO and EZ decided to share one main dish, aside of two small side dishes (which ended up being a Greek salad and some fried cheese). Above, their spicy ahi tempura roll – Fresh Raw Ahi Tuna with Green Onion, Spicy Soy Sauce, Ginger and Garlic. Wrapped in Nori and Flash Fried Tempura Style. I did not try to steal a piece (I did not want to push it, as I was already given the chance to take pictures) but, from the looks of it… Well, I am not sure what to think. While the concept of almost anything fried will taste good apply, I am not certain how it would work with sheets of seaweed. But, the fact they almost finished it was a good sign.

OF went for chicken, specifically, lemon-herb roasted chicken – served with Mashed Potatoes, Carrots and Watercress Topped with a Light Lemon Garlic-Herb Sauce. The portion was huge! I thought it would be a quarter chicken or a chicken breast or two. Nope, it was half a chicken! OF couldn’t finish it but, nevertheless, it was enjoyed.

When I checked with Mijune, there were some dishes she suggested. Above one of them: fried macaroni and cheese – Crispy Crumb Coated Macaroni and Cheese Balls. Served over a Creamy Marinara Sauce. OK, this is one of those cases where I believe that they take a classic (macaroni and cheese) and, by making it bad (i.e., frying it), it ends up into something… Good? This is one instance where I will try it but not finish it. In fact, OF, FO and EZ declined to give it a try as it looked that decadent. Yes, after that crunchy outside layer, you could taste the creaminess of the cheese. The macaroni was, well, just to bond everything together, so it wasn’t that relevant. And, to finish it, a slight sweet and acidic from the tomato sauce. It was good; however, unlikely I will order it again. Too much fried stuff in a single dish…

Since I have had a bit too much fried food already (fish-n-chips from Moby Dick, fried chicken from Ezell’s Chicken and the above fried mac-n-cheese), there was no way I would order more fried stuff. Instead, I went for something “healthy” (ha!). In this case, fresh grilled mahi mahi. For the sides, I went for green beans and spinach. Not being a seafood house, it wasn’t that bad; however, if I put it in the perspective of what is on the plate, it was a bit disappointing. It was overcooked and neither the mayo and lemon helped at all. I will admit this might not be the best option in a place like this so I will give it some leeway.

After we finished our meals, I threw the question: does anybody want a dessert to share? That question was met with “are you kidding me?!” expressions. But, let’s face it: there was no way I would go to a place called “The Cheesecake Factory” without having some cheesecake! Originally, Mijune suggested me the vanilla cheesecake; however, the waitress while opening the dessert menu, there was one that really caught my attention: Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake – Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and our Original Cheesecake covered with our special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting..

When it arrived at the table, I had to insist everybody to give it a try. In the end, FO and EZ did, but just a small piece. In their opinion, this was extremely heavy. As a result, I had a larger share. But, back to the cheesecake… Probably the picture does not make justice to how reddish the cake layer was. Past that it was a sweet moist cake, though lacking of other flavours. Then again, it is not a, say, chocolate cake. The cheesecake layer itself was, as mentioned above, quite heavy which, oddly, balanced the red velvet cake. However, in the end, it was an extreme sugar overload, something that I would rather skip – but I am certain others will appreciate.

In the end, I will have to admit it was better than what I was expected. Some offerings might not be as good as others but, as a whole, it does well what it (sort of) promises it do. As for myself, been there, done that. But, if given the options of several similar chains, I think I might end up in here. Otherwise, I might go to a local dive.

Sweet Obsession Cakes & Pastries
2611 W 16th Ave
Vancouver, BC

After our meal at The Irish Heather as part of its Long Table Series (as blogged here), we decided to look for a place for dessert. Unfortunately (?), Jessica, Mark, Sherman and Viv had other previous engagements so that left Mijune, Anita and me. We could have had dessert and The Irish Heather but, let’s face it, we had an excuse to visit somewhere! At first, we were thinking on different places in Downtown/West End but, after some back and forth thoughts, we decided to go to Thomas Haas in Kits. However, when we arrived, we found out it was closing so that left us again with that eternal question… In the spur of the moment, I remembered the first time I met Mijune, where we were in West Side and ended up going to Trafalgar’s Bistro. So, how about Sweet Obsession which happens to be right next to it? Everybody agreed so to Sweet Obsession it was!

As mentioned in my Trafalgar’s post, it seems Sweet Obsession’s clientele is “younger” than that of Trafalgar’s. As for the food, they both have the same menu, the difference is that you pay for the more calm ambiance in Trafalgar’s…. And open tables. When we arrived, there was none open but, fortunately, one group was leaving and we seized that one right away. That did not prevent us (taking turns) from taking pictures of their goodies on display:

Once we were all back to the table, it was a matter of deciding what to order. Since I wasn’t impressed with what I had in my previous visit to Trafalgar’s, I asked Anita and Mijune what they would like to order if they won’t be ordering their selection. After going back and forth, I ended up choosing my own. But, let’s start with Mijune’s and Anita’s.

Mijune’s selection was tiramisu – “layers of Italian sponge, zabaglione, mascarpone cream and espresso“. I wasn’t particularly impressed with this dessert. While it had some coffee taste to it, as a whole, it didn’t feel like tiramisu. It wasn’t moist as some tiramisu I have had in the past. In fact, it felt more like a cake. In fact, had it been called a coffee cake, I would have liked it a bit more. That opinion wasn’t only from our own table; the table next to ours, who observed us taking pictures earlier, ordered it as well and was disappointed too.

Anita’s order, passion fruit flan – “Tangy passion fruit custard in a buttery pastry shell“. Out of the three dessert we ordered, I liked this one the most. The custard was silky, almost silken tofu-like consistency. To make it more interesting, it had a citrus-y taste (not necessarily that of passion fruit) which contrasted that consistency. The shell was a bit crunchier than what I would wanted but, still, it was good.

My order is the Neopolitan cake – “Layers chocolate cake, vanilla butter cream made from Bourbon vanilla beans, whole raspberries and raspberry coulis“. The individual components were average at best; however, the sum of the parts was a complete fail. I did not feel the flavours were complementing each other; instead, some of them overpowered each other. For example, I thought the raspberry muted the chocolate when I had a piece which had both. (And, in turn either the chocolate and/or raspberry muted the butter cream). Mijune thought that might be because I took a piece which had more of one or the other. That might be possible but I do not think it should have happened to that extent.

Similar to what happened in the visit to Trafalgar’s, it was Anita and Mijune who made it. The goodies? It was an utter disappointment. Given I have been to both places and have tasted five different offerings (counting those from Trafalgar’s – since they offer basically the same), I can’t say I can I liked it…

OK, this is a totally random post: As you should have noticed already, I have created a Twitter account and, well, for good or for bad, have been “following” other fellow food bloggers. Yesterday, Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie) wrote this tweet:

Whoa! NEW S’mores Pie 2 for $1.39 at…McDonald’s!! I haven’t tried it yet, anyone else try it?

Later, Sherman (of Sherman’s Food Adventures) “replies”

@followmefoodie It looked scary to me… I didn’t try it. You go ahead and tell me about it! LOL…

Now, I am making an assumption here that Sherman was replying to Mijune’s tweet above, as there were other in-between tweets, including this one:

Did u do my apple pie trick? Tell them to make u an apple pie McFlurry…vanilla ice cream & ask to blend ur apple pie in it @kathygko

If my assumptions are correct, then, the only thing I can say is… C’mon, people, I can’t believe you won’t give it a try!

Since I was near a MickeyD’s, I thought “hey, let’s give it a try!”. So, here it is, MickeyD’s S’mores Pie!

There is some odd pricing here: 1 for $1.09, 2 for $1.39. I guess that partially explains why people end up overeating… In my case, I got both in the case I needed a “backup” when taking the pictures.

The pie, on its own…

“Breaking” the pie, seeing how the marshmallow “stretches” out

The marshmallow/chocolate distribution

Before I continue, I must admit I have never had s’mores in the past. Nope (or at least not the way it was intended)! Since I lived in the city for most of my childhood and never went to camps, I have never skewered a marshmallow and “toast” it over a campfire, put that semi-melted marshmallow in between graham crackers which had some chocolates in it. I did, however, did a semi-imitation by toasting the marshmallow over gas stove top. The main difference is that the experience is not necessarily the same.

As for the ones offered here… I found it way too sweet (probably my tastes have changed ), lacked that crunchiness from regular graham crackers and didn’t really tasted like chocolate at all. Then again, it is MickeyD’s… So, there you go, I am willing to try almost anything!